Account for disparities in development within one named country: CHINA

Some historical extra features:

*from 1949 to 1976: Mao Zedong. (Founded the People’s Republic of China)
*from 1976 to 1992: Deng Xiaoping. (This generation turned the focus from class struggle and political movements to economic development, pioneering Chinese economic reform.)
*from 1992 to 2003: Jiang Zemin.
* Currently (and likely to last until 2013): Hu Jintao.

Introduction: Over the past 30 years, China has transformed itself, posting extraordinary rates of growth and increasing the living standards of nearly all its citizens. At the same time, China has become a far less equal nation, with vast differences emerging between those living in rural versus urban areas, inland versus coastal areas, and globally oriented versus more insular areas.
The causes of these disparities include a wide range of factors: “natural” as well as “structural” features (geographical differences, imbalance in China’s industrial structure…) which are favourable to the divide of the country; government policies that address market distortions; and preferential treatment that favors the eastern coastal areas.

Plan: 1: western China vs Eastern China 2: government policies that have favored development in the coastal areas 3: the gap has widened: rural-urban migration, income disparities…: 2 distinct macro economies.

I. Western China vs Eastern China

The territory of the western region is vast, its population sparse, and its undeveloped economic resources need to be strengthened and exploited. Of the China's poor who lack adequate food and clothing, the majority live in this region. It is also the region in which most of China's minority nationalities live.
Advantages: * The region is extremely rich in natural resources (water resource, huge coal reserves, petroleum and gas, rare metals…). * Extensive borders (attractive outlook for international trade with the